Hurricane threat grows for Florida as Irma gains strength

Florida declared a state of emergency before a possible hurricane strike after Irma strengthened to become a Category 5 storm on its approach to the Caribbean.

Irma’s maximum winds rose as high as 175 miles an hour (280 kilometers an hour), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on Tuesday. The storm is located about 270 miles east of the Caribbean island of Antigua and headed toward the Leeward Islands.